There’s one thing I feel confident about when it comes to the inscrutable Steve Kerr-Golden State Warriors showdown: No one wants to walk away.

If Kerr really had no interest in coaching the Warriors moving forward, he’d have said so by now and be down in San Diego, enjoying life. Maybe he’d even hop on ESPN a night or two a week for an ungodly hourly rate. Sounds like a pretty sweet situation.

And yet here we are.

If the Warriors — led by Joe and Kirk Lacob and, to a lesser degree, general manager Mike Dunleavy — really felt like someone else was better served to coach Steph Curry’s team (and make no mistake, that is a non-negotiable aspect of this whole thing), they’d have told Kerr to enjoy that life.

And yet here we are.

Because deep down, both parties know what is best; what is right.

Now they’re just clearing the air and setting some new parameters after what was an exceptionally passive-aggressive and in no way successful season.

To be forthright: It’s my understanding that until a press release is issued saying that Kerr has a new contract, this thing could go sideways.

But the way I see it, if Kerr had his druthers, he’d come back. It’s on the Warriors to not drive him away.

That’s easier said than done, because Kerr — as is his right as a four-time champion coach — has his preferred way of doing things.

And the Warriors’ front office — namely the Lacobs — have their own opinions as well.

Let’s not kid ourselves about the ridiculous dynamic at play here. The front office thinks it can build a self-sustaining, perpetual-motion machine post-Curry. Kerr thinks he’s the only one keeping this engine, which is on its last legs, from bursting into flames and leaving everyone stuck on the side of the road.

The truth lives in the messy middle, but neither side wants to admit they need the other just as desperately today as they did more than a decade ago.

Because the Lacobs might own the Warriors, but Kerr is as responsible as anyone for making them what they are.

Both sides are right, both sides are wrong.

But I think Kerr would regret leaving Curry and Draymond Green right now, and I think the Warriors would never be forgiven for letting Kerr walk out the door.

Who could possibly be a better coach for next season’s Warriors?

Curry is the sun, the moon, and the stars of this franchise. Whoever coaches him isn’t just drawing up after-timeout plays; they’re managing a living legend’s legacy. You don’t hand that job to some 30-something analytics whiz who thinks basketball is played on a spreadsheet.

I don’t know guys, shoot more 3s? 

Sure, Kerr’s stubborn insistence on playing the game his way might be holding this team back in 2026. It might not be of the times — it’s asking too much of young players who can’t handle anything more intricate than a high pick and roll where three guys stand around and watch on offense.

But so long as Curry is on the team, shouldn’t the Warriors operate the system that emphasizes him? He is, after all, the reason the Chase Center rafters aren’t empty. In fact, isn’t he the reason the Chase Center exists at all?

Sure, the grass was, in fact, greener in 2014 when the Warriors fired Mark Jackson and hired Kerr.

Do the Lacobs really think they’re in a similar situation 12 years later?

Kerr knows they don’t have a viable alternative.

All these clandestine leaks and glowing profiles? They’re leverage in this negotiation. The same way his lame-duck year put the screws to the Warriors’ front office over this past season.

It all comes back to one simple truth: Kerr is a competitor. This is a guy who took punches from Michael Jordan and can shatter a clipboard into splinters.

And he knows you don’t trade the adrenaline of the sidelines for a headset and a telestrator unless you are explicitly kicked out.

You certainly don’t kick up your feet when Curry is still doing everything in his power to ensure his legs still have enough lift to carry a team.

So, here we are. A billionaire owner and a millionaire coach engaging in a high-stakes game of chicken, both pretending they have better places to be; that they could do better; that they don’t still need each other.

The Lacobs aren’t arsonists, and Kerr isn’t cold enough to walk away from a job that’s not quite done.

The shadowboxing will continue, but these two should figure out a way to stay together.

It’d be a massive mistake if they didn’t.